Who Are They?
by Daemonia
Summary: Hermione is depressed. Harry and Ron both have girlfriends and are completely ignoring her. Two mysterious witches come to Hogwarts on Dumbledore's orders. What they have to do seems impossible...
1. Chapter 1

Hermione is depressed. Harry and Ron both have girlfriends and are completely ignoring Hermione. Two mysterious witches come to Hogwarts on Dumbledore's orders. What they have to do seems nearly impossible… (Harry, Ron and Draco are all friends but don't like Hermione. So they won't be stopping any fights or what-not between her and Draco…)

This takes place after the war with Voldemort. Dumbledore isn't dead. And it starts at night…

Two witches' voices can be heard coming from the golden phoenix stairs that lead to Dumbledore's office.

"Thanks Professor," one said. It was a girl's voice. She had dark brown hair swept into a braid, wearing a cloak. Her name was Mary.

"We'll talk later." Said the other voice, also a girl's. She had brown hair with blonde streaks running through it with her hair swept up in a ponytail. Her name was Sabina. She was also wearing a cloak. The cloaks were black and wrapped tightly around them so you really couldn't see anything. You could barely see their faces it was so dark in the corridor.

As they were coming down the stairs they heard footsteps coming down the hall across the way. They immediately hid against the opposite wall out of view from the person until they could make out who it was. Sabina looked cautiously around the edge to see who it was. She saw a girl walking down the hall dressed in Gryffindor robes and frizzy hair. Her nose nearly looked stuck to a book she was reading.

Knowing who the girl was, they both stepped away from the wall and proceeded to 'accidentally' bump into her. The girl immediately brought her nose out of the book and looked up at who she ran into.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," she said, apologetically.

"Quite alright," said Mary looking at the girl.

"Yes, we were due for a good walking into," Sabina replied with a smirk.

Hermione blushed and looked down.

"What are your names?" Hermione asked curiously.

"That's Sabina," Mary said pointing over at her. Sabina saluted to her. Hermione gave her a funny look and Sabina just shrugged.

"And I'm Mary."

"Nice to meet you two. My name is Hermione. Hermione Granger," replied Hermione with a small smile.

Both girls smiled. Hermione saw this but couldn't figure out why. Was it an evil smile? Did they know? It didn't matter to Hermione but she was tired of the taunts she got nearly everyday.

"Well, we need to get to our dormitories," Sabina said with a sigh.

"Yeah, we'll talk to you later. Okay?" Mary smiled.

"Ok," Hermione said back, looking a disappointed.

Both girls walked away quietly talking to each other once they were out of earshot of Hermione.

Hermione barely heard them as she went back to Gryffindor tower. She walked up to the fat lady and gave her the password, which happened to be 'Red Ink'. She walked inside and was immediately surrounded by red and gold warmth. This usually comforted her but it never did anymore because Harry and Ron were never there to enjoy it with her.

She sat down on the couch that was in front of the fire that was burning, and set her books on the table.

She sighed as she opened up her Potions book. She studied for hours before closing her book. She was finally finished and had one other subject to study. Ancient Runes. Pulling out that book, she began to get very tired and before she knew it she had fallen asleep on the couch again. She woke up still sitting on the couch but it was much brighter in the common room. Checking her watch, she shrieked.

She ran upstairs took a shower, de-frizzled her hair and got dressed. She flew down the stairs, grabbed her books and flew through the portrait hole to the Great Hall. One the way, she briefly wondered if she'd see those girls today.

As luck would have it, when she walked into the Great Hall for breakfast she saw one of the girl's sitting on the stool in front of the teacher's table waiting to be sorted. She sat down at the very end of the Gryffindor table, alone.

'Wow, I didn't know they were students,' Hermione thought as she looked up at them. She nearly gasped. They were beautiful. She couldn't tell before because it was so dark. Both had their hair down this time. Mary had a tan complexion and Sabina was just plain tan! Both were wearing house robes with very short skirts. Sabina was sitting on the stool crossed legged waiting to be sorted. She looked over and saw Mary standing a few feet away from her. Mary saw her and waved. Hermione blushed deep red and looked down in embarrassment.

When she looked back up, Sabina was glaring at Mary. Mary merely shrugged in reply and looked out at the crowd of kids at the tables. Finally, Professor McGonagall walked up to Sabina and started to put the sorting hat upon her head. It did exactly what it did in Hermione's first year when it was placed on Draco's head. It barely skimmed the top of her head before exclaiming 'Slytherin'. Hermione's face fell. She knew Mary would be sorted into Slytherin, possibly losing two new friends.

Mary walked over to the stool and sat down after Sabina had walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down. And sure enough, the exact same thing happened. Barely reaching her head it screamed 'Slytherin'.

Hermione's head fell, not wanting to show anyone how disappointed she was. She heard Dumbledore start to talk before breakfast started but got up and walked away. Sabina and Mary saw her leave and gave a side-glance up at Dumbledore. He nodded and both winked and walked out of the Great Hall after Hermione.

They followed Hermione quietly, not wanting her to see them yet. She led them outside to a bench. As she sat down, she felt a presence sit beside her and another stand in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Sabina asked, holding back a smile.

"Both of you are in Slytherin," Hermione answered, dropping her head a little.

"So, what's your point?" Sabina laughed as Mary playfully smacked her on the arm. Hermione also laughed but said, "You aren't going to want to talk to me."

"We aren't?" Mary said, looking surprised. She laughed after a minute, smiling at Hermione. Hermione smiled back. Maybe these girls wouldn't be like Harry and Ron. Maybe they could be friends. She needed something to fill the void inside that they had caused her…

Hermione looked down at her watch after a minute and told Mary and Sabina she had to go to class. Both waved good-bye as Hermione walked away. Once Hermione was out of sight they started to talk.

"Wow, Harry and Ron sure fucked her up just a tad too much," Sabina told Mary sarcastically.

Mary laughed and said, "Yeah, they sure did. We're going to have to fix that, ya know."

"Yeah, I know. We will. They'll never know what hit any of them," Sabina said to Mary, looking out onto the grounds with a small smile on her face. This was going to be fun…

AN: Well that's it for now. Hope ya like. If ya don't, too bad. I don't care. I'll try to update soon. Reviews are most welcome and so are comments. Excruciatingly rude ones will be taken out or ignored.

What's gonna happen to Harry and Ron? Why are those girl's looking chummy with Dumbledore. What are they hiding?

All characters belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling except Mary and Sabina. They are real people.


	2. Chapter 2

Since they had time before their first class of the day, they started to walk the grounds talking quietly incase someone was lurking around.

"How are we going to do this?" Mary asked, nearly exasperated.

"Like I know," Sabina replied and stuck her tongue out at Mary. Mary laughed at her and did the same. They stopped walking when they got to the lake and sat down on the ground in front of a tree.

"Now, how are going to get them together?" Mary asked.

"Well, first we've got to get her out of Gryffindor. That's our main goal right now. We'll figure out the rest as we go," Sabina replied.

Time passed quickly while sitting quietly under the tree. It was soon time for class. They had Potions. They walked back to the castle silently. When they walked in, they were instantly bombarded by kids going to their next class.

"Ahh, they're attacking!" Sabina joked aloud.

"Run for your life," Mary joked back.

They ran to the dungeons, nearly crashing into Hermione as they stopped quickly.

"Heh, guess we owed you for last night," Sabina told Hermione giving her a small smile.

Hermione smiled back but just as she was about to say something back to her, Draco walked up to them with Harry and Ron on his heels.

"Why, hello girls," Draco smiled viciously. "You shouldn't be talking to a mudblood. It will ruin your reputation, you know?"

He looked over at Hermione and snarled. Harry and Ron just stood there pretending not to notice. Hermione was about to retort but Sabina beat her to it. She walked up to Draco, standing a few inches taller than him. He looked up at her, daring her to say something. Sabina pulled back her arm and before Draco could react, she nailed him in the nose.

"Our reputations are fine just as they are," she sneered.

"Yeah, not much will hurt them either. Trust us," Mary informed him looking like she was holding back a punch. She wasn't into fighting. That was Sabina's job.

As they said this, Draco raised both of his hands to his nose holding back tears. Harry and Ron steered him away. Just then, Snape walked up to them.

"Well well, trouble on our first day huh?" Snape snarled at Sabina and Mary.

"Yup. We're chalk full of trouble," Sabina told him smiling.

Snape stared at her for a moment, obviously not expecting a joke.

"Ten points from Slytherin. NOW GET IN THE CLASSROOM NOW!" Snape screamed at everyone.

Everyone started to pile in. Hermione went to her usual spot in the back of the class and sat down. Sabina and Mary saw this and walked over to her.

"Can we sit down?" Mary asked.

"Sure," Hermione said a little stunned. "By the way, thanks for helping me back there. You didn't have to, you know. I could've handled it." She was grateful but annoyed. She'd handled Draco before. She thought back to third year when she hit him. 'That felt so good,' she thought, smiling inwardly.

"We know that but Sabina loves trouble. She hasn't punched someone in…How long has it been? Three days? Couldn't help it," Mary told her turning to Sabina, receiving a glare. Sabina turned away and watched Snape.

"Oh, come on. You know you liked that," Mary said playfully hitting her arm. Sabina only rolled her eyes.

"GIRLS!" A loud voice exclaimed. All three looked up to see Snape looking at them and all the kids turning around to snicker because they got in trouble. "Ten points each for talking while I was trying to teach." Sabina snorted at him and Hermione and Mary both looked over at her. Hermione couldn't believe it. And apparently neither could the class. They were all looking from Snape to Sabina bug-eyed.

"You weren't teaching anything. I was watching you the whole time. You were sitting behind your desk reading a piece of paper. Only a few minutes ago did you get up to yell at us," Sabina told him, smiling to herself.

Hermione stared at her slack-jawed. She couldn't believe what she just heard. No one has ever stood up to Snape like that before. She definitely liked these girls. Hermione looked back up at Snape and could tell he was about to blow. And that's exactly what he did.

"How dare you speak to me like that. Twenty points from Slyhterin for disrespect and detention tonight with me," he snarled at her.

"I'm ever so sorry. We are going to have to reschedule. I have an appointment with Professor Dumbledore to keep and it's rather important," she told him.

'What kind of an appointment?' Hermione wondered. 'And why with Dumbledore.' Her thoughts were interrupted at Snape started to speak again.

"Tomorrow night, then. DON'T BE LATE! He yelled at her, snarling. There was something about this girl he didn't like but he couldn't figure out what. No one has ever infuriated him this much since he was in school.

Sabina nodded to him. Snape gave one last glare and turned to the rest of the class.

"Today you'll be brewing the _Silentius Veritaserum _potion," he told them. Confused murmurs could be heard throughout the classroom. "What it does," he continued, "is silence the person but they still are obliged to tell the truth. It makes the person who happens to be under the effects write everything down. There is also a compound in one of the ingredients, which I'm about to list on the board, which stops the person from trying to write a lie. Can be very useful and in some cases, torturous. It's to be used only in emergencies," Snape finished.

The class looked stunned. This was a potion none of them had ever heard of, except for Sabina and Mary. They knew how it worked. The class quickly recovered after receiving a glare from Snape. He listed the ingredients on the board and everyone went to work.

Sabina and Mary started working without looking at the board. Hermione glanced over curiously at both of them.

"We did this last year at our, um, school," Mary told her, blushing. 'Damn, nearly let that one slip.' She thought to herself. Sabina scowled at her.

'Dumbledore will kill the both of us if someone finds out about us. It's not time yet,' Sabina thought.

"Oh," Hermione said. 'Wow,' she thought. 'Normally I don't have to look at the board either but I've never heard of this potion.'

Hermione went back to work feeling like someone was watching her. After a few minutes she looked up and scanned the classroom. She didn't see anyone looking at her and went back to work, sneaking glances at Snape before he happened to look up to check on the class.

Snape sighed at his desk. He was looking down at it. He was nearly caught. By her no less. He had adverted his eyes just in time. 'Stop it! Just keep your head down and don't look up," he scolded himself. After that little chat with himself, he looked tenser than he did before. Mary and Sabina noticed this and smiled. They knew why. He was thinking about her and they knew she was thinking about him too. This was a good sign.

Mary and Sabina high-fived each other under their table. Their plan was going perfectly. As long as they didn't come across too many hitches…They both glanced over to Harry and Ron and scowled. They were going to get theirs soon. Just a little bit longer…

Well an end to another chapter. Hope ya liked it. Don't care if ya didn't. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Rude comments will be ignored.

All characters belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling except Sabina and Mary. They are real people.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the third chappie. Hope ya like.

"To see the effects of this potion, I will choose someone's and I will personally test it," Snape said, earning surprised looks throughout the classroom.

'I hope he picks mine,' Hermione thought. Everyone bottled up their potions and brought them to Snape's desk. Mary, Sabina and Hermione were the last ones to take theirs up. Snape glared at all three of them. Mary and Hermione handed theirs to him and walked away. Sabina stepped up to his desk and stood there for a minute. Mary and Hermione stopped walking and watched them. Sabina tossed him the vial, smiled, and walked out of the classroom. They followed her stunned.

"Did you just toss that vial at him?" Hermione asked incredulously. "He's going to kill you."

"Nah, he's still shocked that I did that. He'll get me tomorrow. You'll see," Sabina laughed walking away. Hermione stared after her. She couldn't believe it. She looked over at Mary. Mary shrugged and said,

"Soon, you won't even be surprised by the things she does."

Hermione dumbly nodded, still shocked.

"What class do you have next?" Mary asked her.

"Arithmancy. What do you have next?" She asked Mary starting to walk down the hall.

"The same. Sabina has Divination though. We'll see her later," Mary told her, following her.

"Oh, ok," she replied not really paying attention. She had started to think about Snape. Severus. She longed to call him that. She prayed to anyone that was listening, that he picked her vial. She had a major crush on him. She'd never told a soul. And she never would. Well, maybe she could tell Mary and Sabina…

Mary smiled, knowing who and what she was thinking about. 'This might be easier than I thought,' she mused silently.

Sabina walked to Divination class slowly and silently. She knew Harry and Ron would be in here. It was a relatively easy class with Trelawney teaching.

Sure enough, when she got to the North Tower, there they were. She stood watching them while waiting for Trelawney. They looked over at her and gave her a curious look. She glared at them and then looked away. How they could treat Hermione like that was beyond her. Although if they didn't clean up their act, she'd clean them up. She turned around when she heard footsteps coming from behind her. It was Trelawney. The woman was such an idiot at times. It was really quite funny.

Trelawney climbed up and everyone followed her. Everyone found a seat with a partner except her. That was a good thing. She didn't need or want a partner. But then Trelawney opened her mouth.

"You can work with me today," she said smiling. She nearly laughed. She'd forgotten she had bug eyes because of those silly glasses she wore. She went over to Trelawney's desk and sat down. She sighed. This was going to be a long class.

As Mary and Hermione entered class they saw Professor Vector speaking to the Headmaster. Mary gave him a strange look and he gave the slightest of nods. After a few more minutes Dumbledore nodded to Professor Vector and walked out of the room. Mary took a seat next to Hermione and sighed.

'What was that about?' Hermione wondered. She noticed how Mary gave him that funny look. And why had he nodded to her? It was subtle but she saw it. Her thoughts suddenly stopped when Professor Vector started talking. Hermione barely heard a word though. Her mind started to drift away. Not on what just happened but on 'someone' else. Severus. 'He'll never love me. I'm just a stupid little know-it-all to him,' she thought sadly.

Severus was teaching third years. All of them were dunderheads. Three of them had already managed to blow up their cauldrons. It was Neville Longbottom, times twenty, all over again. His thoughts drifted to Hermione and how she would always help Longbottom. She was such a Gryffindor. Always helping someone in trouble. His thoughts stopped after that thought. Lately he hadn't seen her hand up in his class or her whispers telling Potter, Weasley and Longbottom that the potion was wrong. In fact, she never even sat with them anymore. For some reason this didn't settle with him.

He quickly made these thoughts go away. He couldn't be thinking about her. She was his student and although he shouldn't, he loved her. But she didn't love him. And even if by some tiny speck of a chance that she did, it could never happen. These thoughts made him depressed and very angry. He threw his class out before it ended and went to his chambers for some Firewhiskey. Quickly remembering he had one more class to teach, he put the bottle away and slumped down on his couch.

'I think I'll choose her potion tomorrow,' he thought. Yes, he would do that. This thought suddenly made him less angry. Thinking about tomorrow and what it would bring when he saw her next, he walked back to his classroom and sat at his desk. He began grading papers until his next class showed up.

Sabina come out of Divination class looking absolutely horrified. 'No one learned anything,' she thought sneering. 'Most of them just slept through the whole class. Well, I guess they learned how to sleep. That's something. Ugh, I'm glad to just be out of there.'

She started making her way to her next class. On her way, she ran into Hermione and Mary. Mary saw her expression and asked,

"How was class?" She smiled as she received a glare. She knew Trelawney was an idiot.

"Never ask me that again when I just come from that class," she snarled. "It was absolutely ridiculous." Immediately, Hermione agreed with her. She remembered her third year when she walked out of the classroom. Trelawney had made her so mad. She felt bad for Sabina. Although, she briefly wondered why she would take that class anyway.

They started walking to their next and last class. Transfiguration. They all had this class together. When they got to the classroom they saw the Headmaster talking to Professor McGonagall. Mary and Sabina both looked at him with a strange look on their faces. After a few minutes he nodded to Professor McGonagall and left the classroom.

'It happened again. Just like in Professor Vector's class. What is going on here?' Hermione's mind was racing. She couldn't understand what was going on.

McGonagall cleared her throat and began talking. "Today we will be turning our quills back into the bird they originally used to be," she announced to the class. "Repeat after me, '_Varium Forma'_ and wave your wand like so." She commanded. She swished her wand in a vertical direction bringing it down into a horizontal slide saying the incantation. A chorus of '_Varium Forma' _rang through the class followed by the swishing of wands.

"Good everyone. Who would like to go first?" She asked the class. Mary raised her hand and McGonagall called on Mary to demonstrate.

"_Varium Forma,"_ she said and swished her wand, in the directions McGonagall had showed them, over the quill. It turned into an eagle. It was beautiful.

"Excellent. Ten points to Slytherin," she praised. She went around the room calling on people to do the spell. Sabina's turned into an American Bald eagle and Hermione's, very surprisingly, turned into a vulture. She was most shocked by this. She didn't have time to think because the dinner bell rang.

Everyone was told to leave their birds in the classroom until tomorrow. Mary, Hermione and Sabina were the last ones to leave. They walked out and started walking down the corridor.

"I'll see you at dinner?" Hermione asked them.

"Possibly. We have to see the Headmaster first," Sabina informed her.

"Ok, I'll see you later then," Hermione told them and turned around and walked back to her dormitories to drop off her books before going to the Great Hall. As she walked down the corridor to Gryffindor Tower, she began thinking. 'I wonder why they have to see him. First he's in our classes talking to the professors and now _they_ need to see _him_? This has been a bizarre day,' she thought to herself.

Sabina and Mary walked up to the Headmaster's phoenix entryway.

"Gobstoppers," Mary told it. The phoenix started to move and both hopped on. They reached his office door and knocked. Not waiting for an answer, they walked in and sat down in the chairs that were in front of his desk.

"We need to talk about Severus, Albus," Sabina told him. Albus' eyes twinkled merrily. Both noticed and sighed. This was going to be a while and they didn't have much time.

Well that's it for this chappie. I hope you enjoyed it. I edited it so much from my notebook. Chapter 4 should be up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'm evil so I won't be starting where I left off in the last chapter.

As Hermione walked along the corridor back to Gryffindor Tower, she started thinking about Severus. She wanted more than anything to be with him. She had had a crush on him since fifth year. She admired his mind and his gracefulness with the potions he brewed.

'Have I got it bad or what?' She thought to herself but laughed out loud. Nobody probably thought about Severus, the way she does, except possibly the Slytherins. He made her feel so many things when he was around.

As she turned a corner, she ran right into something hard. She looked up to see what she had run into. She inwardly grimaced. It was Severus. She was preparing for the worst that never came.

He looked down at her and was just about to yell. "I'm sorry sir," Hermione apologized. She put her head down and stood there waiting. She had to keep her head down otherwise she might kiss him.

Deciding against screaming at her he grunted out a low growl and walked down the corridor, opposite her.

'Way to go, Hermione. Very brave!' She yelled at herself. After a few more minutes of walking, and cursing herself, she was standing in front of the Fat Lady and directly behind Harry and Ron.

Sabina and Mary were watching the Headmaster for his reaction. His eyes twinkled and that was all that was needed. So they proceeded.

"Well, first things first. The plan is going as well as to be expected," Mary said matching the Headmaster's twinkle. Sabina gave a slight scowl.

"Yeah. They're thinking more each other now. Which is good. We just have a few more things to discuss," Sabina said then cleared her throat. Mary nodded silently and looked around his office at the snoring pictures. She knew none of them were asleep. She also knew that the Headmaster always told them to pretend to sleep when discussing interesting situations. Such as this. She smiled to herself.

"I understand you've written to Severus requesting his presence," Sabina said remembering the piece of paper Severus was reading in Potions class. The Headmaster smiled at her. Smart little thing, wasn't she?

"Well we need you to bring up his need to have an apprentice and suggest it be Hermione Granger. That way things will progress a little more quickly," Mary told him. She had a strange feeling that's what his meeting with Severus would be about. Her feelings were correct when the Headmaster next spoke.

"I was actually going to bring that subject up anyways. Guess that muggle saying is true. Great minds think alike?" He laughed when Sabina rolled her eyes. Mary laughed at her too. Sabina just shook her head. A few more words were discussed and soon Mary and Sabina left his office.

As they descended the phoenix steps, they saw Severus walking towards them. They both smiled sweetly at him and he gave both if them a death glare. 'What idiotic girls,' he thought menacingly. He brushed past them, his robes billowing behind him. He was already late. He turned around quickly, deciding he could be a few more minutes late.

"Ten points each from Slytherin," he snarled and turned back around, walking away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, they both lost. Their laughs could be heard throughout the halls.

Hermione stared at their backs for what seemed like hours. Finally, she gained enough courage and walked past them. Hitting them as she passed. They glared at her as she said the password and entered the portrait. She ran up to her room and put her books on her desk. She gave Crookshanks a quick scratch and went back downstairs.

As soon as she exited, she was once again greeted with a glare. They both looked like the were holding back screams and insults, obviously not wanting the other Gryffindors to hear. 'Is that all they can do to me? Glare?' She mused to herself. She gave them both a sarcastic smile and left as they stared after her.

She made her way to the Great Hall silently. She was nearly at the entrance when a hand covered her mouth and she was yanked into a room. She tried to scream but it was muffled and didn't quite sound like one.

"Don't scream and I'll move my hand," the voice commanded softly. She knew that voice but it sounded oddly different. She slowly nodded and the hand disappeared from her mouth.

"Draco," she said. Her voice dripping with venom. He gave her a smile and held up his hands in defense.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to talk," he told her.

Her mind screamed for her to run. But her legs wouldn't move. Why did Draco need to talk to her? Was this a trick? Curiosity got the best of her.

"Yes?" She asked in a monotonous voice.

"I come to you for a truce. And to tell you a few things," he said. A truce? Who was he kidding? And tell her what things? She looked at him skeptically.

"Ok, what things?"

"Potter and Weasley are planning to do things to you. I felt I should tell you. Contrary to what you may think, I'm not all that bad," he said and smiled a little. She snorted in response.

Thoughts were racing through her mind. What things were they planning to do? And why was he being nice? Why was he even telling her? She had to find out.

"Why are you being nice to me and telling me all this? You hate me and I hate you. And just earlier you were calling me a 'mudblood'!" She was extremely angry now.

He looked at her for a while. He looked as though he couldn't find the words to tell her.

"Well…" his words trailed off. How could he say this? He took a breath and began again. "Potter and Weasley came to me on the train ride over here. They thought I was still 'evil'. They told me how they despised you and how they wanted to make your life a living hell. They just wouldn't tell me why. So I told them I'd help. I was going to tell you. I wanted us to be friends this year. Ever since my dad wound up in Azkaban, I haven't had to be such an ass to make him happy. You remember earlier at Potions? I was going to tell you then but Potter and Weasley were following me. So I had to keep up pretenses. So that's why I'm here, telling you this now." He took another breath and sighed.

She looked at him. She was trying to tell if was lying. She couldn't see any trace of a lie.

"I don't know what to say," she said to him. She knew what Draco didn't know. She knew why. But she wasn't going to tell him. Not yet. Not until she knew he was trustworthy.

"Well, like I said. I thought you should know." With that, Draco walked out of the room. She stared after him for a few minutes before following him out.

As soon as she stepped out of the room, she ran into Mary and Sabina. They smiled at her.

"Make up with Draco, did you?" Mary asked and laughed. Sabina slapped her playfully. Hermione just looked at them shocked and scared. How did they know? Were they spying on her? Did they put Draco up to this?

AN: Well that's it for this chapter. 20 reviews and I'll post the fifth one real soon. Hope ya liked this chappie.

The characters mentioned in this chapter belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling, except for Mary and Sabina. They are real people.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello readers! A few words before I start the chapter.

American Punk: I'm glad I remind someone of myself. You won't find out why Harry and Ron are mad at Hermione for a while. And no, I don't are for Hilary Duff although I'm not 'anti'. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the chapter.

Angelbabe385: Thanks. I didn't want Draco to be a bad guy. Enjoy.

Transylvanian: Yes, evil plotting is coming very soon!

And thanks to the rest of you who reviewed. I appreciate it.

"How did you know?" Her voice shook as she asked. Damn, why couldn't voice be calm and steady?

"We were walking to the Great Hall when we saw Draco grab you and take you into the room," Mary explained trying to calm Hermione down.

"Yeah, we listened at the door for a few minutes. Wanted to make sure he wasn't going to hurt you." Sabina scowled a little. All right, so it wasn't exactly the truth but they couldn't tell her. It wasn't time to tell her everything. Yet. But it would be soon.

"So, what did Draco want?" Mary asked smiling at Hermione. She already knew what he wanted. They both did. But of course, they had to play dumb for now.

"To tell me that Harry and Ron were planning to do things to me," Hermione said though she didn't look the least bit worried. Whatever they did to her, she'd do three times worse.

They both smiled inwardly at her thought. Good. She was growing a backbone after all. This would go along excellently with their plan.

Severus stopped in front of the Headmaster's phoenix stairway. He took a deep breath and said the password. He didn't want to do this. He knew the Headmaster was just going to meddle and he didn't want to hear it. As he stepped up onto the stairs, he couldn't help but think of Hermione. He vowed silently to himself that someday soon he'd make Hermione his.

The Headmaster had already mentioned Hermione and approved of a relationship between him and Hermione. But of course, he acted stupid and foolish and said that he didn't care about Hermione like that. Sometimes he wondered if he had taken Dumbledore up on his approval if he'd finally leave him alone. But then he'd just tell himself that he'd never be left alone no matter what.

So this visit was no different. He knew this conversation would hold Hermione at its core. Part of him was glad. He gave a shadow of a smile.

He entered Dumbledore's office a few minutes later. Dumbledore ushered him in and gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk, silently asking Severus to sit down.

"Evening Severus, how are you? Would you care for some tea?" Dumbledore asked him waving his wand and conjuring up some tea for the both of them.

"Cut the crap Albus. Why am I here this time?" Severus snarled at him. He didn't have the patience for chitchat.

"Well I requested you here because I think it's time you got an apprentice," Albus said smiling at Severus. He eyes danced merrily. Severus inwardly and outwardly groaned. 'Here we go,' he thought.

"I do not, nor will I ever, need an apprentice!" Severus spat out at Albus. Albus only laughed.

"Yes you do. And I know the perfect one. Hermione Granger. What do you think?" Albus asked already knowing the answer. Automatically Severus' mind screamed 'YES!' It would give them a chance to be alone. Maybe things could progress from student/teacher to friends. Maybe even more. But he answered quite differently.

"You already know what I think. The answer is no!" Severus told him firmly. Without even drinking his tea, (how rude!) he got up to leave.

"I'm sorry Severus but you will have an apprentice and it will be Hermione Granger!" Albus said. He looked close to angry, except for his eyes. They just twinkled because Dumbledore knew Severus would listen to him.

Severus sneered out a 'fine' and left Albus' office, his robes billowing angrily behind him. 'This is just great. It's not enough that I have to be around her for Potions. Now, I have to be around her so much more. Damn, this is like a nightmare,' he thought sadly. He knew that when he started working with her he'd go nuts. And then he might do something stupid. He didn't want to hurt her. He sighed and made his way to the dungeons. Once there, he grabbed some firewhiskey and drank himself to sleep.

Hermione, Sabina and Mary walked into the Great Hall. Sabina and Mary sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table with Hermione so she wouldn't be alone.

Hermione immediately started to get nervous when she noticed Harry and Ron pointing and laughing at her. Hermione sighed miserably and tried not to look at them. Sometimes she really missed them. But when things like this started, she just wanted to kill them.

All of a sudden, Sabina and Mary heard a mumbled spell from Harry and Ron. With little time to react, they jumped on top of Hermione to block the blasts of the spell with their cloaks. Hermione immediately panicked, thinking they were hurt. Her eyes went wide when they both go up and dusted off their cloaks. Even the Great Hall went quiet and was staring at them. The whole room was completely quiet.

Mary helped Hermione off the floor. Sabina looked up at Dumbledore. He returned her glance and nodded.

"Headmaster! Is it all right if I hurt whoever said that spell? Badly? And very painfully?" She asked him evilly.

The entire Great Hall gasped. Sabina ignored them and kept looking at the Headmaster. She knew he would say yes but she had to wait for it. Finally, he nodded to her. She smiled at him and glanced over to Harry and Ron. They both gulped. They both knew they were in for it. Both of them got up and ran from the Great Hall. All three girls sat back down laughing at the boys.

Well that's it for this chapter. Hope ya like it.

What's with those cloaks? Why weren't Sabina ad Mary hurt by the spells? Tune in for the next chapter and find out! Hehe…


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everybody! I'm finally updating! Aren't ya happy! Hope you enjoy it!

The next day Hermione woke up to quietness. She looked around the dormitory and saw that none of the girls were there. She looked over at her clock on her night table beside her bed, and realized she was extremely late for class. She said a quick cleaning spell, fixed her hair and flew out of Gryffindor Tower straight to class. She had already missed her first class by now, so she ran to the dungeons for Potions.

She burst through the Potions door gasping for breath. Everyone looked back at her, while Snape snarled at her.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for being late!" He growled out at her. She rolled her eyes at him and sat down at her usual desk. The first thing she noticed when she sat down was Mary and Sabina weren't there. 'Where are they? Did something happen to them? Did Snape yell at Sabina for yesterday and kick Mary out too?' She asked herself and then cursed. 'Don't think like that, you idiot. Maybe they have a reason why they aren't here.'

Snape didn't seem to notice or even care that they weren't in class. He went on as normal. Hermione drew her attention back to Snape. He was telling the class that it was time to test one of their potions. 'All right, you know you're going to pick hers. So stay calm and don't make eye contact', he told himself over and over hoping it would sink in. He looked at his class and said,

"Miss Granger! Get me your vial!" He screamed at her. The entire class groaned, except for Hermione. She was completely frozen in place. Making herself move, she got up and walked over to a shelf where he had obviously put them trying to stay calm and collected. Her insides were doing flip-flops. 'Don't look at him. Don't show any emotion and keep your head down so he can't see your eyes!' She yelled at herself as she walked over to where he was standing. She felt everyone watching her, including Snape.

When she reached his desk, she handed him the potion. He took it from her and pulled the stopper holding the liquid inside. He looked at it for a moment before bringing the vial to his lips and taking a drink. He downed it in one gulp. He dropped the vial on his desk and stood still for a few minutes.

He looked over at Hermione and ushered her closer to him. 'Oh, God!' Hermione thought. 'Keep calm.' He leaned over his desk and grabbed a piece of paper. Stepping closer to her, he sensed her stiffen and frowned. 'She's probably repulsed she has to be this close to me,' he thought to himself bitterly. Her thoughts were actually quiet different.

'I can smell him! He smells like sandalwood and spices. He smells so good,' she thought, smiling inwardly. Suppressing the urge to breathe deeply, she looked down at the piece of paper. He had written something on it. 'Test me to see if the potion worked. Ask me a question. Aloud.'

"Um, Professor Snape. Do you like being a potions professor?" She asked him and the class gasped. He glared at her and work down grudgingly, 'No, I do not. I would much rather be the DADA professor'. She read what he had written aloud and the class laughed. They knew it was true but it was so funny to know that he just blatantly admitted it, even if he was under the effects of a potion.

He wrote down for her to tell the class to get out and for her to stay after class. She repeated what he had said. (In different words, of course.) The class gathered their things and walked out of the dungeons. Hermione walked over to her desk to grab her things but didn't leave. She waited a few minutes, then walked back up to his desk in case he had written something down for her to read.

By the time she reached his desk the potion had finally worn off. "Now, Miss Granger. I told you to stay because I have a few things to discuss with you," he told her. He was trying to keep his composure. They were alone in his classroom. "First," he began, "Only one person gets this privilege from me. And I don't give it out lightly. I've decided to make you my apprentice.," he said. She gasped in surprise and happiness. Before she could stop herself, she had launched at him and threw her arms around him hugging him. He stiffened at first but then he brought his arms around her, just barely, and gave her two pats on the back and let go. When she felt his arms move from around her, she almost reluctantly let go.

"Second, you have to be here everyday at six o'clock sharp. You'll be helping me with potions and with whatever else I want you to do. Any question?" He snapped at her. As soon as he snapped at her, he wished he hadn't. He couldn't help it and it was pointless to take it back. He _was_ Snape after all, mean and ugly.

She did have a few questions but she decided to ask him later. She shook her head at him. "Good, be here tonight at six. Don't be late!" He snapped at her again and nearly winced. 'Damn!' He cursed himself.

She stared at him for a minute before turning around and walking out of the dungeons. 'Why was he snapping at me? Did I upset him by hugging him? He didn't seem upset after I let go.' She shrugged at her thoughts and went to her next class.

Snape was still standing beside his desk. He was completely tense. After she left, his mind finally registered that they had hugged. He was totally shocked that she had done that. Even touched him for that matter. 'Why would she do that? Why would she willingly touch me?' He asked himself. A voice inside answered his question. 'Duh, you idiot! She was happy. Didn't you see her face when you told her?' He smiled at that thought. He made her happy. He, Severus Snape, had made her, of all people, happy! His smile vanished as he heard kids coming. It was his next class and he couldn't be caught out of character.

Sitting down at his desk, he waited for his class to arrive thinking still about how he had made her happy.

Sabina and Mary watched from an unknown place smiling. Their plan was underway and things were running smoothly so far.

Well that's it for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it and I'll try to post my next chapter a little quicker. K? K.

The 'Harry Potter' characters do no belong to me. They belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. Except, Sabina and Mary. They are real people! )


	7. Chapter 7

I have taken this story and placed it onto my other account, Daemornia. It was my first account and I plan on making the updates there. Updates will be coming soon, as my writers block seems to have lifted a little. Thank you.


End file.
